One... gets an impression that civilization is something which was imposed on a resisting majority by a minority which understood how to obtain possession of the means to power and coercion. It is, of course, natural to assume that these difficulties are not inherent in the nature of civilization itself but are determined by the imperfections of the cultural forms which have so far been developed.

Religion is a system of wishful illusions together with a disavowal of reality, such as we find nowhere else but in a state of blissful hallucinatory confusion. Religion's eleventh commandment is "Thou shalt not question."

The world is no nursery.

Time spent with cats is never wasted.

I became aware of my destiny: to belong to the critical minority as opposed to the unquestioning majority.

The virtuous man contents himself with dreaming that which the wicked man does in actual life.

Maturity is the ability to postpone gratification.